Harrisonburg City, VA tax sales
How tax deed sales work in Harrisonburg City, seat of Harrisonburg: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
New to tax sales? Read how Virginia tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Next sale
- There is no fixed annual auction date.
- Registration
- There is no standing bidder registration, because the city holds no recurring auction.
- County office
- 540-432-7705
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 23, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page
How Harrisonburg City sells delinquent taxes
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Office of the Treasurer, City of Harrisonburg, which certifies the delinquency and advertises the list; the sale itself is conducted by a special commissioner appointed in a suit in the Rockingham County Circuit Court, which serves both the county and the city
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- There is no fixed annual auction date.
- Registration
- There is no standing bidder registration, because the city holds no recurring auction.
- Sale list
- Delinquent Real Estate Tax List
When it runs
There is no fixed annual auction date. The delinquent real estate list is advertised every September: the City Treasurer's July request to City Council states the advertisement "will be published in the Daily News-Record and on the City website in September after the required notification is mailed to the last known billing address of the taxpayers to be advertised." A parcel reaches auction only when a circuit court suit is filed on it and the court confirms a sale, so sale dates are set case by case rather than on a calendar.
Registration and deposit
There is no standing bidder registration, because the city holds no recurring auction. When a parcel is sold, the court-appointed special commissioner sets the terms in the published sale notice, and that notice is where the deposit, bidding method and registration steps appear. Call the Treasurer's Office at 540-432-7705 to ask whether a parcel on the advertised list has been referred for a court sale, and the Circuit Court Clerk's civil division at 540-564-3113 to check for a filed suit.
Sale format and venue
Harrisonburg is an independent city and a county equivalent. It runs its own Treasurer and its own delinquent tax process, and it is not part of Rockingham County, so Rockingham County sale notices do not cover city parcels. Under City Code Section 4-1-29 the Treasurer asks City Council each July for direction to advertise unpaid real estate taxes for the two qualifying tax years, mails each owner a notice giving 30 days to pay, then publishes the list in the Daily News-Record and on the city website in September. The current list gives the owner name, the property code and the tax owed for each parcel. Virginia sells delinquent real estate by judicial suit rather than by administrative auction, so a Harrisonburg parcel is sold only after a court-appointed special commissioner files that suit and the court confirms the sale. The city publishes no auction calendar and no online bidding platform is confirmed for this jurisdiction, so verify the current sale path with the Treasurer's Office before making plans to bid.
Source: City Treasurer Letter to Council on Advertising Delinquent Real Estate Taxes· Verified Aug 23, 2026
Harrisonburg City tax sale list and auction calendar
For Harrisonburg City tax sale 2026 searches, use the county-run sources below rather than a copied parcel list, and confirm the parcel, registration cutoff, deposit, and payment deadline against the county before you bid.
Get the advertised list
Use Delinquent Real Estate Tax List for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
There is no fixed annual auction date. The auction platform is still being verified. Confirm the next sale date and registration window with the county before you bid.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Office of the Treasurer, City of Harrisonburg, which certifies the delinquency and advertises the list; the sale itself is conducted by a special commissioner appointed in a suit in the Rockingham County Circuit Court, which serves both the county and the city as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Harrisonburg City
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Delinquent Real Estate Tax List. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
There is no standing bidder registration, because the city holds no recurring auction. When a parcel is sold, the court-appointed special commissioner sets the terms in the published sale notice, and that notice is where the deposit, bidding method and registration steps appear. Call the Treasurer's Office at 540-432-7705 to ask whether a parcel on the advertised list has been referred for a court sale, and the Circuit Court Clerk's civil division at 540-564-3113 to check for a filed suit.
Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the Virginia due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth.Set a walk-away number
Work out what the parcel is actually worth with the rural land value estimator, then turn it into a ceiling with the tax deed max-bid calculator.
Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.
County offices
Tax sale office
Office of the Treasurer, City of Harrisonburg
409 South Main Street, Harrisonburg, VA 22801 (payments by mail: P.O. Box 1007, Harrisonburg, VA 22803-1007)
Official websiteCounty notes
- Harrisonburg is one of Virginia's independent cities. It is a county equivalent with its own Treasurer and its own delinquent tax process, and it is not part of Rockingham County, so a Rockingham County tax sale notice does not cover city parcels.
- The Treasurer's delinquent real estate list is the practical starting point for investors. It names the owner, the city property code and the tax owed for each advertised year, and it is published on the city website and in the Daily News-Record in September after owners get a 30-day notice by mail in August.
- City real estate is billed in two halves due December 5 and June 5, with a late penalty of 10 percent or a 10 dollar minimum and 10 percent annual interest, so a parcel that reaches the advertised list has usually gone unpaid through several billing cycles.
- A judicial sale suit on a Harrisonburg parcel is filed in the Rockingham County Circuit Court at 80 Court Square, Harrisonburg. The Clerk's civil division is 540-564-3113 and land records is 540-564-3126, which is where to confirm a pending suit and to read the recorded deed history before bidding.
- No statewide auction platform publishes a recurring Harrisonburg sale calendar. The operative notice is the city's September delinquent list plus the legal notices in the Daily News-Record, so watch those rather than a statewide auction site.
- Office hours for the Treasurer are Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 5:00pm, at 409 South Main Street. Treasurer Jeffrey L. Shafer signs the delinquent list, and the office is the right first call to confirm a payoff figure or whether a parcel has been referred for sale.
Virginia rules
- Redemption
- An owner listed in the published notice, or the owner's heirs, devisees, successors, and assigns, may redeem the real estate at any time before the date set for the judicial sale by paying into court everything due. The right ends when the sale happens; Virginia gives no redemption window after the hammer falls and no redemption window after the deed is recorded. Partial payment does not redeem the property and does not suspend, invalidate, or moot the suit. The treasurer may instead suspend the sale by entering an installment agreement with the owner running no more than 72 months, and an owner who defaults on such an agreement cannot enter a second one for the same property for three years. The same before-the-sale-only cutoff applies on the nonjudicial track under 58.1-3975. What does exist after the sale is not redemption but a challenge: a party served only by publication may petition for a rehearing for good cause within 90 days of the order confirming the sale.
- Deed deposit
- No statewide deposit percentage exists. Article 4 leaves the terms of sale to the special commissioner and the confirming court, so the deposit is whatever the advertised terms of that sale require. Read the terms of sale published with each auction and confirm accepted funds with the commissioner before bidding.
- Surplus proceeds
- The former owner and the owner's heirs, devisees, successors, or assigns are entitled to the surplus received from the sale above the taxes, penalties, interest, reasonable attorney fees, costs, and any liens chargeable on the parcel, and the burden is on the claimant to prove entitlement. If no claim is made within two years after the date the sale is confirmed, the clerk pays the money to the locality that received the sale proceeds. On the nonjudicial track, excess proceeds sit in an interest-bearing escrow account held by the treasurer, a claimant has two years from the date of sale to schedule a hearing in circuit court, and unclaimed money goes to the locality's general fund.
A tax deed does not convey marketable title. Most buyers file a quiet title action before they can resell or insure the property. See the due diligence guide.
Frequently asked questions
Does Harrisonburg City, Virginia sell tax liens or tax deeds?
Tax deeds. Virginia sells no tax lien certificates to investors; the county sells the property itself at a public tax sale.
How often does Harrisonburg City hold tax deed sales?
Harrisonburg City holds its tax deed sale once a year. There is no fixed annual auction date. Each sale is scheduled and advertised in advance, so check the county's tax deed calendar for the next posted date.
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Often yes, by paying the overdue taxes, interest, and costs before the deadline. Virginia's redemption rule: Until the date set for the sale. Virginia has no post-sale redemption period. Call the Office of the Treasurer, City of Harrisonburg, which certifies the delinquency and advertises the list; the sale itself is conducted by a special commissioner appointed in a suit in the Rockingham County Circuit Court, which serves both the county and the city as early as possible for your exact payoff and options; deadlines are strict. Free help: lawhelp.org lists legal aid programs, and consumerfinance.gov lists HUD-approved housing counselors.
Where can I find the Harrisonburg City tax sale list?
Harrisonburg City posts its tax sale list at harrisonburgva.gov. Lists go up ahead of each sale and keep changing until the sale date, so confirm every parcel against the county's legal advertisement before you bid.
Verified Aug 23, 2026 against official county and state sources.
Tax Sale Atlas publishes educational information about public tax sale processes. This is not legal, financial, or investment advice. Rules, dates, and fees change; confirm with the county office before you bid.
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